I lead the HR department of a company with between 30 and 40 employees. Due to our size, we in HR are generalists whose job duties include training, compensation and recruitment. We don't have specialized roles, but I have been asked to develop key performance indicators, or KPIs, for our employees in sales and accounting. This is the first time I've tackled this subject. Any advice on how I should start?
—Lost in Limbo, finance/insurance/real estate, Cairo, Egypt

I have been asked to assess the impact of new training, including learning content, rating instructors and evaluating program participants. How soon should I expect seeing results before I start my analysis?
—Hurry Up and Wait, training evaluation specialist, nonprofit, Gaithersburg, Maryland

Here is our issue in a nutshell: we have a close-knit office and some employees have questioned the fairness of 360 feedback, since there is no way of knowing who says what about whom. What should we do?
—Stuck in the Middle, HR manager, health care services, Boise, Idaho

We talk about performance as being the key metric which drives decisions. But too many choices are still guided by irrelevancies or illegalities. We can have every smart device available—or soon to be created—but they don't eliminate our own biases; they magnify and reveal them.

My company underwent a recent merger that created a need for new managers. Our organizational structure also is changing to run much flatter. The newly merged organization is looking for a way to identify candidates for the new management jobs. Historical data on performance either is lacking or not available. How do we go about the task of assessing which employees to interview for the management roles?
— Data Blackout, organizational development specialist, manufacturing, Teaneck, New Jersey

Our new accountants generally do a fine job dealing with routine compliance issues. When it comes to analytical skills, however, most of them are severely lacking. They are unable to project or think beyond the basic answers.

It's easy to test for and to teach basic skills. But how do we test people's analytical skills?
—Final Analysis, hiring manager, financial services, Plantation, Florida

During the interview process, is there a good way to assess each candidate so I can narrow down the search in a timelier manner? I was hoping for some kind of checklist. Or would this actually be a hindrance rather than a help?
—Need for Speed, HR specialist, Nonprofit, Wausau, Wisconsin

As a financial services company, how can we devise useful competencies for our knowledge workers? Our new hires need basic courses in economics and skills to use our customized econometrics model. We know what we're looking for in new recruits, but we don't know how to formally express it by way of competencies.
—Seeking Knowledge, adviser, financial services, Ottawa

Is our financial-services company treading on dangerous ground if we rely too heavily on pre-employment personality tests? How much reliance is too much?
—Personality Flaws, finance/insurance/real estate, multinational